Karma
by JackRabbit361
Summary: HidanXOC, What goes around comes around. When Mina was forced outside one day, she makes a discovery that will end everything for her. Fortuitous meeting or a Sadistic nightmare… depends on which god you worship. Rated M! Temporarily on Hiatus...sry
1. Discovery

**Hola! Um… this fic is kinda random for me. It's short and practically done already. The idea came to me, quite literally 30 hours ago and I just felt like writing it. It's just something that I'm doing cause I have writer's block on 'Last' so if it's not that great, I already know and there is no reason to flame.**

**Also, I swear to God… I'm not venting emotions on this story. I have a very good relationship with my folks… I also don't have it in me to commit murder.(oops! Spoiler!) It's just my vivid, sadistic imagination running wild. Perhaps I was a bad person in a past life. In this life, I'm a writer… go figure.**

**Story takes place a long time after the manga. **_**Italics are internal thoughts.**_

* * *

Chapter 1: Discovery

"Mina, what are you doing sitting in your room again?" The middle-aged blonde stood in the doorway to her daughter's room.

The seventeen year old looked up from her reading and glared at the woman. "I thought you were going to start knocking before you just walk into my room and berate me for existing."

This was the current state of their relationship. Mother would ask a question; Mina would take offense. Unfortunately for Mina, her mother was not a pushover. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find anyone willing to stand up to the former Sand ninja. Anyone with half a brain knew better than to attack her. Given that prerequisite, it's no wonder the genius of the Leaf village is the one that managed to tame her. But that romance is a different story. Just know that from it came three bundles of joy. The first-born son, named Asuma after their father's childhood sensei; the youngest, a boy named Aki for his bright intelligent eyes; and the middle child, Mina.

"Berate you? …Berate you!" Mina's mother huffed. "All I wanted to know is why you are endlessly sitting in your dark room, all alone, and not outside enjoying the sunshine!" She took a step inside the room but stopped short when she realized her threatening presence would have no effect on the girl. "Fine. Be that way. I'll just have your father come over here and drag your ass out." The woman turned and marched out of the dimly lit room, shouting for her husband, "Shikamaru!"

"Fucking whore…" Mina muttered to herself as she quickly stashed her piece of choice literature out of sight. She was obsessed with dark, supernatural things. Her father hated that. Once he caught her reading a book about the 'old gods' and the animal sacrifices that their worshippers used to commit; she had never seen him so furious. It scared her given that her father rarely even spoke. He was the quiet, genius type and to see him snap like that… it was unnatural, but only served to incite Mina's lust for knowledge not of this world.

"What is it now, Temari?" She heard her father's voice just outside her door. Slow and drawl as ever.

"It's your daughter. She won't come out. Drag her out here before she turns into a vampire."

"Ah geez…" He slid open the door. "Do you have to use that terminology?" The man flicked on the overhead light and walked over the edge of his daughter's bed. "Mina… honey. Your mom and I would really like it if you would just go outside for awhile. The fresh air and clouds will do you good." Another thing about her father; despite his genius, he seemed to think that clouds were separate from the air.

She took a breath and bit her lip to stop herself from getting into an argument with them. There was no way she could take the both of them. At least if she went outside they would stop talking to her. "Fine." Mina shot up from her bed, the long braid of her hair nearly whipping her father in the face, and pushed past her mother in the hall on her way outside.

"What's that look for?" Shikamaru turned sideways to avoid it.

His wife was glaring daggers at him, as if it were his fault that their daughter hated them. "You know what that look is for."

--

"Fucking parents… fucking life… fucking fuck fuck fuck." Mina didn't stop when she reached the backyard patio. Instead, she kept walking straight out into the woods behind her family's estate. Only Nara's were allowed there and she could count the number of them on one hand, not including herself. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going. In all honesty, she didn't care. It's not that she was reckless with her life. She just wanted more out of it than she thought was humanly possible, so why bother?

The blonde haired girl stopped to catch her breath. "Christ… where the hell am I?"

It was dark in this part of the forest and she was wondering why she had never come here before. It was secluded. The air was cleaner and smelled only of dirt, similar to a graveyard and wholly unlike the air near the house that constantly had the scent of different flowers or some Sand village specialty that her mother was cooking.

Mina wasn't actually concerned about her current whereabouts. She knew that she didn't make any turns and could just walk straight back to where she came from with her eyes closed and hands behind her back. But the eerie tranquility of the spot urged her to sit and relax awhile.

She leaned back against a tree and slid down to its base. _It's too quiet here._, she thought as she listened to her own breathing. There was not a single animal in sight. No deer silhouette in the distance, no raccoon scratching behind the bushes, not even a single insect chirping in the treetops. There was no evidence of life except for the occasional sound of the wind blowing through the upper leaves of the trees that all but completely blocked out the sunlight.

Next to her were some stones. She picked them up and started throwing them at the open patch of dirt in front of her. Strange how something so simple could make her relax. Mina started to throw them harder and harder, trying to bounce them off the ground and into an abandoned woodpecker's hole in the tree opposite from her.

It was entertaining for her and she did manage to get a few in thanks to her strong right hook… just like mommy dearest. The idea of sharing anything with those people instantly sickened her. Whether Mina liked it or not, she had her mother's looks and her father's mind… the best of both worlds as some might say. Her older brother had dark hair but wasn't much in the thinking department. He took after their mother and became a powerhouse with his fuuton jutsu. Her younger brother was the ultimate genius and shining star of the family. Only problem was he might as well have had ADD. He would become endlessly bored with whatever his sensei could come up with for him to do and then he would take off pulling pranks and making jokes, running all over town.

Mina was a balance, not that she would let anyone discover that about her. She quit being a ninja two months after she graduated the academy. She said, 'It's a bother. It's not what I need to be doing with my life.' That was nearly seven years ago and she had yet to do anything with herself. She managed to hack some decent taijutsu off of her elder brother and whenever the little runt would stay still long enough, she would grasp a few basic ninjutsu like transformation, substitution, and shadow clone from her younger brother. There was also the family's own Shadow Possession Jutsu, but that was taught to her before she even graduated the academy by her father. He wanted all three of his children to be masters of it, whether they wanted to learn it or not… which was the case for Mina.

'THUD' 'thud' 'THUD' The rock would bounce hard off the ground, then softer off the bark of the tree, then hard again as gravity brought it back down to the dirt.

"uuuuuuuuuuuah"

Mina raised an eyebrow at the small dirt clearing in front of her. _D-Did the earth just moan?_ She felt stupid the second she asked the question but upon hearing the faint sound again she couldn't deny what she swore she was hearing.

Slowly, she crawled forward and put her ear to the ground. There was no sound. She pounded her fist into the dirt once, then twice in a row and listened silently again.

"uuuuuuuuuuuah"

She gasped and stood up straight, eyes still glued to the earth beneath her feet. "What the hell? W-what could -possibly- be down there?" Her anxiety pushed her into a pacing motion. "Can anything survive that deep down? Well, clearly. I mean, what else could be making that sound other than something that's alive? Maybe it's an underground stream. No. It responded. It's sentient." The flickering light bulb above her head burned steady.

"It's intelligent. Human? No." She shook her head back and forth. "Humans can't survive that kind of pressure." She stopped pacing and kicked at the ground, which earned another moan from the 'sentient' being. "This ground is solid. It hasn't been over turned in years." The young woman turned and walked a small distance away to get a wider view of the dirt clearing. "What's intelligent, not human and can survive underground for years?" She mused taking in the situation. "I'm not quite sure. But I want to find out." A wicked smirk played across her face.

* * *

**Reviews are always appreciated. :) **


	2. Unearthed

**Second chapter… what to say, what to say… I kid you not, as I write this, I'm listening to Christian rock music. It just started playing on my Pandora tab, idk why. **

**The whole story should be up within a few days and the next 'Last' chapter will be up shortly. I'm using this to get the wheels in my head turning again. (I don't think I've ever typed so many curse words in such a short amount of time. And might I add that 'Fuck' is an incredibly versitile word.)**

* * *

Chapter 2: Unearthed

"God damn it!" Mina huffed as she dug through the dirt. "Wish I knew some fucking earth jutsu. Make this a hell of a lot easier, that's for damn sure!"

It was the day after she had first discovered the 'graveyard', as she was now calling it, on her family lands. She returned to the spot bright and early with some tools and in proper working clothes. Of course her parents were a tad confused by her sudden urge to see the outside world. She lied and said she was going to be sightseeing around the village and that she would be gone all day. Before they could interrogate her further, she was gone.

Mina was, at what she estimated to be, the three-quarter point of the hole that she was reopening. Less than 6 inches into the dirt, Mina had found evidence of explosive tags and the cornerstones of a well dug pit. The moaning of whatever she was digging up was constant now.

"You better not be a fucking underground river, you son-of-a-bitch!" She shouted out of breath as she took a swig of water from a canteen. The cool refreshment was a short-lived reprieve. In the same moment she tried to swallow the liquid, she felt the distinct sensation of a hand grab her ankle. "Whaaa!" She coughed and jumped forward, kicking her leg furiously in order to make whatever it was, let go. The blonde scrambled for her flashlight and shone it in the spot her ankle previously inhabited.

Sticking up out of the rubble was three-quarters of an arm, the hand grasping around, looking for something to grab hold of.

Mina ran into a bit of difficulty trying to get her bottom jaw to close. "Holy shit…" She managed to breathlessly utter. "Oh boy." The blood was rushing back to her head as she calmed down. She curled around her knees and continued to stare at the disembodied arm. It looked like a messy tear through the center of the bicep did the job, but oddly enough, there was no sign of decomposition. The skin was pale, but muscle that was exposed was just as red as a freshly cut deer.

The limb began scratching at the ground beneath it, trying, in a rather pathetic fashion, to dig deeper into the earth. With no body for leverage, the process was less than productive. Mina sat still and watched it for awhile, not quite sure what to make of it just yet. Then the animate hand managed to push a dirt clod out of the way, revealing a wiggling toe. "Ah! Of course…" Mina spoke sarcastically, purely for her own benefit. "Where there are arms, there must be legs."

With a shallow, disbelieving sigh, the young woman crawled forward and began to assist the arm in the task of freeing the leg. Once the ankle was clearly exposed, she stood back up, staring down at the sight. "Come on Mina…" She coached herself. "Just grab the leg and pull. Who knows," she laughed. "you might get a prize."

She gingerly reached down and brushed the side of the leg with her hand. It reacted violently, causing Mina to jump back startled. "God damn it!" She cursed at her own fear. "I am not the kind of person to look a gift horse in the mouth. This is fate… my fate. And I am not going to be scared of my own fucking fate!" In one quick motion, she reached down, grabbed the ankle and pulled upward. The shin to just past the knee came with it. But the really fascinating part was what its displacement did to the surrounding earth. She dropped the leg and it, along with the already exposed arm, continued to move about in nonsensical patterns. Her focus was drawn away from them by a twitching shoulder. All conscious thought was drained away from her as she knelt down and began to brush away the remaining layers of dirt that covered the head.

'COUGH'COUGH' The head wheezed as it tried to clear its throat of dirt and rubble. "It's about fucking time…" He struggled to see, his eyes clouded with debris. It was a 'he'. Mina sort of already knew it would be because of the masculine arm and leg she had already unearthed, but it still gave her a decent shock. "Well, help me for fucks sake!" The man, or rather the part of a man, squirmed.

"Right…" Mina reached for her canteen and poured some of the water over his eyes. "There…" She stared at him in complete and utter awe. His eyes were pale lavender. They reminded her of pearls. His hair, though matted with dirt, was a soft, slick white. She let her eyes drift down the features of his face, coming to rest at the base of his neck where his peculiar necklace caught her attention. "I know that." Mina reached forward to grab the jewelry only to have the man attempt to bite her. She withdrew her hand.

"That's right! Back off bitch!" He snarled.

The woman only continued to stare at the odd emblem of his necklace. "That's uh… Jashinism right?"

There was a brief moment of silence shared between them. Mina trapped in a state of awe; the man curiously looking her over. "Who the fuck -are- you?" He spat with a certain distaste at being so polite.

The young blonde looked him in the eyes and sneered back. "My name is Mina. Who and what the fuck are you?"

"Oi! What makes you think you can talk to me like that!?"

"I'm the bitch that dug you up. But if you'd like, I can just rebury you and be on my merry fucking way." She smiled with a cruel glint in her eye. This was unreal. She was certain of it now. That symbol around his neck was the sign of a Jashinist. It had to be her favorite archaic religion. They did nothing but sadistically and relentlessly kill in worship of their god and in return, according to the myths, they were granted immortality. _Heh, myths my ass. This is for real. This is an immortal. What are the odds?_

"Now, now. There's no need to be so hasty." The man gave her a sincere smile. "My name is Hidan." Mina pointed at the necklace. "That is a symbol of my UNDYING loyalty to the great Lord Jashin! I had faith that he would free me one day from this shithole and now I am!" His zealous moment over, he cleared his head and remembered his vow. "And now… I'm gonna get my revenge on that son-of-a-bitch heathen scum!"

"Who?" Mina hung off of his every word, wanting to learn more from the foul-mouthed immortal.

"Who the fuck do you think? The bastard Leaf ninja that put me down here! I'll have him sacrificed in such a way that his children and his children's children and all of his descendants for all of eternity will feel the glory of Jashin!" He began to laugh maniacally which earned an intrigued stare from Mina. She cleared her throat and got his attention. "Huh? What is it?" He came down from his high, glaring at her.

Mina brushed some of her bangs behind her ear. "Just an observation here… but you're not quite put together. How do you expect to kill that son-of-a-bitch?"

Hidan looked at her like she was stupid, which she didn't appreciate. "You're going to put me back together. Speaking of which… chop'chop! Get a move on! I'm not paying you to sit there looking like a dirty mongrel woman!"

Mina fell back in laughter, holding her sides. "You're not paying me at all, you dumb bastard!" He watched her roll about, settling close enough to his unattached leg for him to kick her. "Ack!" She pushed the twitching appendage away and looked back at the devout man. "What's in it for me?" Silently, he stared at her, not quite sure how to read the movements of this curious young woman. "Hello?" Mina crawled back over to where he was and locked eyes with him. "What do I get in return for helping you?"

"What do you want?" The Jashinist muttered out of the corner of his mouth. He hated doing business. That was what Kakuzu was for. Speaking of whom, Hidan began to wonder where he was. If the stringy bastard was still around, he could kill this bitch and the two of them could be on their way.

The blonde pulled on her braid as she thought about what she could ask for. It didn't take long for her to consider her premier choice. "I want what you have." She stated plainly.

"What? My fucking necklace? Christ, women are so retarded!" He rolled his eyes in disgust. "Fine. You can have my necklace. Now get me the fuck out of the ground!"

It was now Mina's turn to stare at him as if he were the stupid one, which he didn't appreciate. "I want immortality."

"H-how in the hell do you expect me to give you that?" Hidan looked at her with astounded eyes. "Only Lord Jashin can grant immortality and you have to devote yourself to him in order to attain it. He doesn't just hand it out to just anyone!"

"Then teach me, Hidan-sensei, how to properly worship Lord Jashin so that I might attain such a glorious gift."

He stared at her with a slack jaw, studying her with a careful scrutiny. Could this child be serious? In all his years on the earth, he had never met anyone who honestly wished to convert to Jashinism. "You're a fucking liar! You heathen bitch!" He shouted at her.

His insult was instantly met with a solid slap across the face, silencing his zealous ranting. "Fuck you. I'm serious. I want to be immortal and I'll give everything in my possession to get it."

_This is fucking bullshit. I just know it. There's no way in hell this whore is seriously telling me she wants to serve Lord Jashin. Pretty girls don't pull shit like this. It's just ridiculous_, Hidan thought to himself. "You can't just say it. You have to prove it. What about your family, huh?"

"Fuck 'em."

Hidan blinked at her quick response. "You have to have faith in him."

"It's his to do with as he wishes."

An evil smile appeared on the immortal's face. "You have to give him your life." _No way she'll be so quick to answer this one._ The young woman thought for a moment. _Ha! I knew I fucking had her! The bitch is bluffing._

"You mean like suicide, right?" He was caught speechless. Mina only smirked at his shock. "Yea, that won't be a problem."

"It's suicide. You have to kill yourself to become immortal. All you have is your faith that Jashin will bring you back. How can you be so relaxed about it?!" Hidan snapped at her in an almost fatherly tone.

Mina's smirk remained. "You're living proof that Jashin exists. How can I deny the power of a God when it's staring me in the face?" She snorted a short laugh. "If he gave you immortality, then there's no way in hell he would refuse me."

"You don't even understand the concept of such a sacrifice, you fucking whore." He spat at her.

The blonde's eyes became shaded and her smirk became a scowl as she slid up her sleeves, exposing her forearms to the dim light. "I understand. And believe me when I tell you," she leaned in close to his ear. "Pain is not a concern of mine." She needn't say anything more. Her scars spoke for her.

Mina sat back and let her sleeves fall back down over her arms. When she finally looked back at the mangled head, she found something unexpected. With a wide grin, Hidan shouted. "Alright then! Dig me up and we'll get this show on the road."

* * *

**As before, all reviews and opinions are welcome. ;) **


	3. A Common Goal

**I apologize if the story seems kinda weak. I'm trying to make Mina evil, but I don't know… mean is easy, murderous and hateful is actually difficult. I also hope my Hidan isn't OoC. **

* * *

Chapter 3: A Common Goal

"It's about god damn time you got back! What'd you do? Take the scenic route?!" Hidan leaned up against his scythe as Mina approached with a handful of items. She had finished exhuming his body, weapons and clothing included, and left to get some supplies. Using some of the wire she found in the pit, Mina had stitched together most of his body. But according to Hidan's constant protests, she wasn't as good as Kakuzu… whoever the hell that was.

"Oh I'm sorry!" Mina exaggerated. "If you had wanted just water and crackers, I'm sure I would have returned much sooner. Instead, I had to collect all of this crap!" She sat on the ground in a huff. The Jashinist rolled his eyes and sat with her. She shoved a box of food into his hands. Instantly, he tore into it, swallowing much of it whole. "If you're immortal, why do you even need food?"

"Oi! I'm hungry, okay? Immortal or not, a man needs to eat!"

"Pig."

He glared up at her from his meal. "How about once Jashin blesses you, I throw you in a pit and bury you for god only knows how long? Then we'll see who gets hungry." Mina ignored his empty threat and pulled out two Bingo books. "What're those?" Hidan spoke with a mouth full of food.

"They're to help me figure out just how long you were down there." She pointed to the gaping pit just feet from where they sat.

"A long time." He swallowed his current mouthful and took another.

"Thanks. Now how about doing something helpful and describe to me the last couple of ninja that you remember fighting."

The immortal jumped up to his feet and shouted, pointing to the other side of the pit. "He was right there! Right there with that smug look on his face when he threw the lighter and blew me the fuck up! That bastard, son-of-a-bitch, mother-fucking, cock-sucking, piece of shit!"

"O-kay. Calm down stitches. He'll die soon enough." Mina reached up with a napkin. "You got a little something…" she gestured to his chin. Hidan snatched the napkin from her hand and sat back down with a frown as he wiped his face. "What color hair did any of them have?"

He chugged down a bottle of water before answering her. "The bastard had black hair. There were three other ones too. The tall one had silver hair, the whore was blonde," He snickered, glancing up at Mina. "and the fat-ass had brown hair."

"Were they kids, like younger than me?"

"Yea. But the tall one was older than you." He leaned forward to get a better look as she flipped through the pages of the book. "What are you doing?" He prodded.

Mina reached up and pushed him back on his ass, but before he could scream back at her, she answered him rather politely. "I'm looking for a ninja with silver hair in this old Bingo book. It's from before I was born, which I think is around the time you were buried." She absently reached into her bag and pulled out a clean pair of pants and new shoes. "Here. There's a river about half a mile east of here. Go clean up."

He took the articles of clothing and stared down at her thoughtfully. _This woman… talk about strange._ _I can curse at her and she doesn't even take offense. She even yells back. The potential for violence… hehe, gives me chills. If she's serious about it, I think she'd make a halfway decent Jashinist._

She looked up at him. "Is there anything else you remember about him?"

"Red eye." He tapped his left eye. "One of his eyes was red." He turned and walked off toward the river. Twenty minutes later, he came back to find her swinging around his scythe. "What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" He grabbed hold of the weapon, though she didn't let go.

With the instrument of death taking only a small space between them, Mina looked lovingly into his eyes. "I figured it out and I know who you are."

_Huh? What the hell is she talking about?_ "Figured out what?" He growled suspiciously.

"That you are by far the most beautiful man I have ever met." With a content sigh, she let go and floated over to the two books she had brought with her. "Allow me to explain." She motioned for him to take a seat while she stood and wove her tale.

However reluctantly, he set his scythe against a tree and sat obediently. Her curious behavior was enough to entice him to be quiet.

Mina cleared her throat and gave him a coy smile. "This man," she opened the old book to a marked page. "His name is Hatake Kakashi. He's the silver haired man with the red eye." Hidan nodded in agreement upon seeing the image. "And that pattern on your cloak." She pointed to the tattered remains by the scythe. "It stands for Akatsuki."

Again he nodded. "What's it to you?"

"Ah-ah." She wagged her finger at him. "Let me finish." Mina picked up the new book and flipped it open. "This is Uzumaki Naruto. He's the container for the nine-tail fox spirit. And it was your mission in Akatsuki to retrieve him."

"Among other things…" He shook his head somewhat angered that he had yet to see what was so wonderful about the situation.

"In your journey to capture him, you killed this man." Mina opened the old book again and flipped to the page with Sarutobi Asuma's picture.

"Get to the fucking point!" Hidan shouted at her.

Mina threw the old book at him. "Don't be so fucking dense!" The projectile struck him in the head, which he gingerly held afterwards. "This man and this woman," She opened the new book and showed him two new pictures, "were two of his three students."

"Oh yeah…" He sat up and in recognition of the two. "The blonde and the fat-ass. They're a hell of a lot older though."

With a nod, she flipped the page again, revealing another photo. "Just over twenty years, I'd say. This is the third student, the one that put you in that pit."

Hidan's eyes went wide and he snatched the book from her hands. "How did you…?"

Mina laughed lightly. "I've always sorta known." She tapped the page his eyes were glued to. "Read his name."

"Nara Shikamaru." He looked over at her smiling face. "Why are you smiling?"

"My name is Nara Mina. That's my father. He told me the story of his sensei's death but he left out the fact that he buried his murderer in our backyard." She glanced off to the side. "I guess he just didn't trust me."

The immortal raised his eyebrow at the girl. "Oh let me guess. You just can't bear to kill the man and you don't want any part of this anymore? Well, tough shit sister. I'm getting mine!"

She reached up and held his face in her hands in a sweet, kind fashion. "Not at all, Hidan-kun. In fact, it's going to push up my timetable for gaining immortality. I'm going to kill myself tomorrow night, become immortal and then you and I will sacrifice him to Lord Jashin."

"If you weren't converting, I'd say you'd make a wonderful sacrifice yourself." He held her hands as he looked down at her.

Mina ignored the obvious glint in his eyes and removed herself from the situation. "You'll have to stay here tonight. There are blankets and some more food in the bag there." She picked up the two Bingo books and started to walk away. "Don't go near the main house. It's too risky. I'll be back sometime late afternoon tomorrow."

"What? Why?" He started after her.

She turned to look back at him. "Why what?"

"Why are you not going to come back till late afternoon?"

The young blonde smirked at the man's apparent concern over the issue. "I need to scout out some places around the village."

"What for?" _Wait… what the fuck do I care what she does?_

_What the fuck does he care?!_ "To find a place to die.", she huffed. "I'm not just going to slit my wrists or hang myself in my bedroom." Her quiet laugh had its own unique sinister quality. "I'm going to make a show of it. And everyone in the village will know that I am dead." Mina spun around and began to walk away again. "I'll tell you my plan tomorrow, Hidan-kun. Tomorrow will be very entertaining. I promise."

* * *

…… **I really don't like writing about suicide. It's upsetting for me. Is that normal? Oh well, soon enough she'll be immortal… or at least she hopes she will. Reviews would be nice, cause this is a completely experimental fic for me.**


	4. Pleasantries

**First, let me just say that I am amazed that so many people seem interested in this story. WOW! I'm seriously shocked. I thought it would be too… what's the word? Depraved. But I guess that's not necessarily a bad thing. So, for you depraved, sick mother fuckers, I promise to properly finish this story. (lol, I guess that makes me one too for writing it.)**

**Mina's older brother Asuma doesn't live with the main family cause he moved out (not important, but just so we know who all's at breakfast). Akimichi is Choji's surname. Mina's outfit is kinda like Anko, only it properly covers her chest and is mostly (entirely) black. **

**Oh, and I don't know what possessed me to add another OC but I did. Kaoru is a combination of Naruto, Jiraiya, and Kakashi personality wise… (Mostly Jiraiya.) 'sigh', poor kid… And for what it's worth (it also doesn't matter at all) Mika is Kaoru's mom, just cause of my other story in all. ;) I don't care about age specifics or anything in this story, so 'meh' (sticks tongue out at mean people who would say "That doesn't make any sense. His parents would be like 15 years older than hers.")**

* * *

Chapter 4: Pleasantries

Mina sat silently at the breakfast table with a small mysterious smile plastered on her face. She woke up at sunrise and got dressed in her favorite outfit; a short black halter over a mesh top (clearly showing her torso) with a strip of leather wrapping from her left shoulder to her hip and slimming black pants.

Her parents and younger brother stared at her as they ate their breakfast. Finally her mother couldn't take it anymore. "Okay, seriously. What's with the smile, Mina? Something happened yesterday, didn't it?"

The young blonde looked up at the older one. "You could say that."

Shikamaru sighed tiredly. "Well, what was it?" Mina giggled lightly, which only drew a near primitive growl out of Temari. The woman was pissed that she wasn't getting an answer. "Mina, please answer your mother's question."

"Anything for you, Daddy." She shot him a quick smirk. He raised an eyebrow at her, confused by the title 'Daddy' as much as the sweet tone in which it was delivered. Mina looked at her mother and with glazed over eyes gave the woman a proper answer. "I met a man."

Aki choked on his food. "N-no way!" He coughed out.

"Yes way." Mina patted her little brother on the head. "He's positively fascinating."

Shikamaru was eyeing the door for a quick escape. He didn't want to deal with this. He knew his daughter was a strange one and for the life of him, he did not want to attempt to conceive the kind of man that she would fall in love with. Unfortunately, his wife knew his movements all too well and grabbed his wrist; keeping him at the table.

"What's his name?" Temari demanded an answer.

She continued to smile. "I can bring him by tomorrow to meet everyone if you'd like, Mother."

"That'd be lovely, dear." The middle-aged woman grinded her words out. "But I asked his name. And for the love of god, please tell me it's not some freak."

Mina rolled her eyes. "What would you prefer his name to be?"

Her mother's mind drifted off to the place where girls dream about what they'd like their children to become, what family they'd like to be related to and how many grandchildren they'll get out of it. "Hatake or Inuzuka would be just fine with me. Hell, I wouldn't mind if it was Akimichi, they're good people, right honey?" She squeezed Shikamaru's wrist. He nodded obediently, a strained expression still on his face.

With a slight twitch at the mere pronunciation of those surnames, Mina slowly stood up from the table. "Sorry to disappoint, but I wouldn't touch a Hatake with a ten-foot pole. Nor would I want to look at an Inuzuka for more than a minute. And nothing against Uncle Choji but, his son's just not my type." She nodded toward her father. A chill again went up his back at her courteous behavior. "I'm done eating. May I be excused?" Her father nodded despite the extreme pressure being exuded on his wrist by his wife. "Thank you." Mina walked over toward the back door and threw on her three-quarters length jacket. "I'll be in town if anyone needs me."

"Hey wait. I'm leaving too!" Aki jumped up from the table and rushed to put on his shoes. His older sister merely glared at him from the corner of her eye until he stood brightly at her side. "Bye momma! Bye Papa!" He walked out after his sister.

"Sweetheart…" Shikamaru started to talk to Temari, but she cut him off.

"I know. Mina's never been so… so… what's the word?"

He tugged on his captive wrist. "Polite, considerate, peaceable."

Temari nodded grimly in agreement. "…yea. I'm worried. Do you think she's doing drugs?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. But I'm sure I could think more clearly about the situation if you let go of my wrist. My hand's gone numb."

--

"Hey onee-chan?" Aki scrambled to catch up with her long strides. If he didn't know any better, he'd say she was trying to lose him.

"Hn?" She grumbled.

"Can I meet your boyfriend?"

Mina sighed tiredly… just like her father. "I don't have a boyfriend."

"But you said you met a guy!"

She passed another block and started walking faster. "I did. That doesn't make him my boyfriend." Aki was bored with trying to keep up with her, so he jumped up onto her back, using her long braid for leverage. "Ack! Get off of me you freak!" She reached up and spun around trying to force him down. "Aki! I'm serious you fucking twerp!"

He jumped down and off to the side just before she slammed her back into the side of a building. "You're a liar, onee-chan!" He broke into a small fit of laughter upon seeing her hold the back of her head. It took the brunt of the force, since he evaded the attempted retaliation.

"I'm not a liar. You bastards just assume stupid shit like that." Mina took two menacing steps toward her little brother. "For the last fucking time, I don't have a boyfriend."

"Well, that's good news!" A cheerful voice, about two feet too close to her, chimed. The blonde whipped around to get an eyeful of a silver-haired young man she did not like seeing, Hatake Kaoru. He was three years her senior, but in terms of maturity he was equal to a filthy-minded 13 year old boy. It was his parents fault; his father for showing him his 'library' and his mother for letting his father get away with it. Normally, Mina would just curse at anyone that got too close to her but, given his family name, she needed a good reason. Though, with the young man's vocabulary, it never took him too long to say something unsavory, thus giving Mina her just reasoning.

"Aki, come here." Mina knelt down and snatched her little brother's arm, pulling him close. "Shield me from the perversion." She stood back up, holding the little boy in front of her defensively.

Kaoru laughed at the show. "That won't work, Mina-chan." He pulled a chocolate bar out of his pocket and waved it in Aki's face. "Go fetch!" He threw it as far as he could.

In that instant, Aki used a substitution jutsu and escaped his sister's clutches. He would not be seen for the rest of the day, as something was bound to catch his attention after eating so much sugar. "Fucking ADD brat." Mina cursed under her breath, dropping the bucket that her little brother used in his escape.

"So, what brings you out and about this fine day?" Kaoru walked forward and gracefully hooked her arm with his, leading her down the street in the direction she had been previously heading. "I almost never see you anymore."

"Ah… what a shame." The blonde scowled. For whatever forsaken reason, the freak liked her; one of the many reasons she tended to be a homebody. He squeezed her arm, wanting an answer to his question. Mina sighed. This was going to slow her down… or was it? _Oh… I'm so fucking bad. Hehehe…_ A cruel addition to her plan manifested itself in her mind. "Actually, I was looking for a blank wall. It's for an art project."

"Really?" He sounded genuinely interested, his blue eyes shining as he continued the conversation. "What kind of art?"

Mina's mysterious smile resurfaced. "Something 'expressive'. The whole village will see it and they will never forget it." She glanced up at him slightly. The hamster wheels inside his skull were damn near visible. It was coming.

"You know I love art." The pervert grinned ear to ear. "I draw things all the time. You wouldn't happen to be interested in modeling for me sometime, would you?" And there it was.

They turned a corner and the perfect second story blank wall caught her eye. She stopped in her tracks. "Tomorrow." The word slid elegantly from her lips as her eyes glazed over in excitement.

"Se-seriously?" The man was shocked by the answer. Usually she would smack him or curse him out for being inappropriate.

"Yea." Mina came back out of her temporary stupor at finding the perfect location for her plans. "Meet me right here tomorrow morning. Bright and early; right at sunrise. Can you do that for me?" She pointed to the ground where they were standing.

He nodded, still in awe of her words. "Wait… Are you screwing with me?" The small bit of common sense that he inherited from his mother kicked in.

The blonde shook her head back and forth. "Not at all, Kaoru-kun. Now then, why don't you and I spend the day together? I almost never see you anymore." She squeezed his arm and continued walking about town; having already found the perfect locale for her 'art project' along with the perfect 'art critic' to discover it the following morning.

* * *

**Holy snaps! What in the world could Mina's sinister plan be? Sorry for there not being any Hidan in this one, but he'll be in the next one. I had to set things up for the 'art project'. I'm looking at one, maybe two more chapters ya'll. Thanks for the support I've been getting. Keep up the reviews!**


	5. The Color of Blood

**Woo! New chapter. Sorry it took so long, my disturbed readers! But here ya'll are, for your sick reading enjoyment!**

* * *

Chapter 5: The Color of Blood

"You know, Mina. I think I've always known that deep down you were this wonderfully sweet girl." Kaoru walked with her right up to the front door of her house.

She drove her nails into her hand to keep herself from losing her cool. "Well… It would take someone as 'special' as you to bring it out of me." Her smile looked terribly fake, but in his blissful mind she looked nothing less than genuine. "So, I'll see you tomorrow morning at that place, right?" She pressed her hand on his chest to stall his advance toward the door.

"I wouldn't miss watching the sun rise with you for the world." He held her extended hand in his and kissed it.

Mina fought the rising bile in the back of her throat. "Ah, okay. Well, I'll see you tomorrow." She retracted her hand and scrambled for the handle to the front door without turning her back to him. She didn't want to imagine what action might take his fancy next. The door cracked open and with a few steps she was almost inside when he caught the door and took a step toward her.

"Can I ask you something?" It was the first time his eyes had any amount of suspicion in them. Mina nodded warily. There was no way the bastard could outsmart her, but if he suspected any foul play he could definitely cause problems. She needed to keep him blind. "Why the sudden change today… honestly?"

What better way to keep someone blind than to tell them the truth? "A few days ago, I became acutely aware of my own mortality." She started, her eyes ducking to her left as she remembered her destined meeting. "And I decided that I shouldn't hold back anymore. I mean… we all die someday and I don't want to go having not gained something from my life. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Perfectly." Kaoru whispered close to her face, snaking his free arm around her waist and pulling her into a kiss.

_Ah! What the fuck! Fucking ninja…_ He had moved too fast for her to realize. At the moment she was desperately regretting not sticking to her own ninja training which would have proved useful in preventing this situation. After several agonizing seconds, he let her go. Mina took a breath and then looked into his blue eyes. "Goodnight Kaoru."

"Goodnight Mina." He turned and left with a sly grin on his face, proud of himself for the stolen gesture of love.

It took every ounce of her sanity to not slam the door behind him, but Mina managed to close it gently. She coughed, in an attempt to rid her mouth of his taste. Yes, the pervert used his tongue. She sensed a pair of eyes watching her and whipped around to face her mother.

"What was it you said this morning? As yes, you 'wouldn't touch a Hatake with a ten-foot pole'. And yet, here you are with his tongue halfway down your throat." Temari stood smugly with her arms crossed over her chest.

Mina was red in the face with rage… or embarrassment, either would suit the situation. With nothing better to say at the moment and the fact that she was on a very tight schedule, she straightened up and spoke briefly. "Goodnight mother."

"Hmph." The older woman looked down on her daughter. "See you in the morning."

_Around eight or eight-thirty at latest. Depends on how fast the news spreads._ The blonde rushed to the bathroom to scrub every microbe she might have picked up off of that filthy man. When she finally emerged from the steamy room, there was no soap, toothpaste or mouthwash left. A quick glance at the clock by her bed alerted her to the passing hours. "…shit." She quickly got dressed again and snuck silently out of the house, toting a heavy duffel bag with her.

"Do you realize how long you have had me waiting out here?" Hidan glared at her as she came running through the forest. "Christ! I would have bet that the sun would rise before you finally decided to run your fat ass out here." All Mina did when she reached him was drop the heavy bag on the ground and lean against a tree for support as she caught her breath. "And what the fuck is that?!"

"Do you ever just shut the fuck up? I mean, seriously." She huffed. "It's part of my 'art project'."

The immortal walked forward and opened up the bag. "Your what now? I thought you were going to kill yourself, not paint a fucking picture."

Mina chuckled lowly. "You have no imagination, Hidan-kun." She glanced back toward the village. "Come on. I'll need your help and we've got only another three hours till sunrise."

Hidan pulled out one of the several, four-foot long black metal spikes out of the bag. "What the hell are you going to do with these?" He looked up at her. Slowly, grim smiles crossed their faces as their minds finally connected on a similar wavelength. "You know, I think I'm starting to like you.", he chuckled.

The two of them easily snuck into the center of the village without detection. The decade or so of relative peace had made the patrols less than reckless in their duties.

Mina stood in front of the second story wall. She knocked on it to see how thick the wood was. _Two and a half maybe three inches. I should be able to pierce through that._ She nodded to herself before looking over her shoulder at the oddly patient Hidan. "So?"

His lavender eyes, glowing in the dark, stared back at her. "So what? You're the mastermind here. You haven't told me anything."

"Are there any special rituals or incantations that need to be said before I do it?" Mina picked up a metal spike and cleaned her fingernail with it.

"Well, most people just kill themselves without making a whole big deal about it." He danced around the actual question, which annoyed her to no end.

"Most people kill themselves to end their life. I'm doing it to extend mine indefinitely. Now, I'm not going to ask you again. What do I need to do in order to please Lord Jashin and have Him bless me with immortality?" Her dark eyes bored into his skull.

_Yea… I could definitely get used to this face right here._, Hidan inwardly smirked at her aggression. "Yup. Move." He shoved her aside and, using another of the metal spikes, cut open his hand. "Where are you going to die?" He smiled sweetly. Mina pointed to the wall. "On the wall?" She nodded and watched intently as he shrugged his shoulders and used the blood pouring from his hand to draw the sacred symbol of Jashin on the wall. When he finished, it was as large as Mina stood tall.

"Perfect." The blonde walked forward and stood between the marking and her trusted acquaintance. "Your turn to move." She raised the metal spike in her hands and pushed him gently just off to the side. With one hand, she found one of the gaps between her ribs, just above her heart. With the other hand, she steadied the spike. "Do you see all those other spikes there?" Mina gestured to the duffel bag.

"Yea…" Hidan was fixated on her every action by this point. He almost couldn't believe that she was really going to go through with it.

"Once I'm dead, I need you to stab those through every limb of my body; pinning my corpse to the wall." The Jashinist was silent. "Did you hear me?" Mina reached out with one hand and grabbed his jaw. "Hey!"

Hidan grabbed her hand and held it tightly. "Profess your faith." Mina was breathing heavily. The stress and gravity of the situation was catching up with her. "…Mina." He reached out and helped her steady the spike. She took in a deep sharp breath and nodded quickly. "Say it out loud." He whispered.

"I believe." Mina pulled the spike toward her, but stopped just as it broke the skin. "…ah." Every human instinct in her was screaming that this was a bad idea.

"Say it like you mean it." Hidan ordered her this time; putting more pressure into his grip on her hand.

"I believe." She tightened her grasp on the spike, but still couldn't pull it through her chest.

"You're a liar!" He shouted into her face.

Mina's eyes looked away from the target in her chest and instead turned to glare into the lavender eyes of her companion. "Fuck you! I'm seriously going to do this!"

He rolled his eyes exasperatedly. "No, you are a liar. You're just some little child that thought it would be fun to play Death! If you were fucking serious, then maybe you'd be dead already! Now fucking die!" He put his free hand on the spike and made as though he were going to stab her with it.

The blonde would not have it. Before Hidan could exude any force on the metallic instrument of death, Mina used all her strength, with both hands, to drive the spike through her heart and into the wall behind her. Blood instantly began to drip out of her mouth. The shock to her system was nearly unbearable. It took every ounce of her self-control to try and calm her panicking body.

He could see the pain and fear in her eyes. It touched him and reminded him so much of himself, when he had to do the same. Mina's head was beginning to drop lower and lower, almost reaching her chest before Hidan reached out and held her cheek. "Mina."

Her body shook, her lips trembling in her last moments. Upon hearing her name, her eyes flickered up to meet his.

Hidan reached out with both hands and supported her head. "Tomorrow afternoon. I'll come and find you." He leaned in close and kissed her deeply, tasting her blood as it continued to drip freely. "I promise." He whispered against her mouth. As he pulled away, he could see the light behind her eyes completely fade away. Mina was dead.

"Whelp…" Hidan cleared his throat and stared at the motionless body. "Time to let my artistic nature shine." He smiled widely as he picked up spike after metal spike and stabbed them through her various limbs. In the end, there were a few left over and just for the heck of it, as some sort of sick acupuncture, he ran them through some of her vital organs. "Hmmm… I guess that's it." He left, off to hide somewhere in the village until Mina resurrected. "I really hope she had faith now… I wouldn't mind looking at that for all eternity." He glanced back at the corpse. "Heh-Heh. I wonder who's gonna find her."

--

Despite all his flaws, Kaoru was a good man and a fine shinobi; he made the rank of jonin at sixteen. He came from good stock; a combination of the Namikaze and Hatake clans. He was blessed with being raised in a time of peace for the Leaf, but his parents, being as inept as they were, would tell him old war stories about how the world used to be before he was born. His mother, in particular, did not spare him a single gory detail as she would recite her time spent on the battlefield and in the company of several vile characters.

Perhaps this is why, when he made his way to meet Mina that morning, he didn't scream out or stand shocked at the sight of her dead body pinned to the second story wall like a sick voodoo impersonation.

His eyes squinted as the first rays of sunlight peeked over the rooftops, illuminating the spot that Mina's body occupied. Words eluded him; only feelings of regret, disgust and pity passed through his mind. After several minutes of staring off at the sunrise, only occasionally glancing at the 'art project', did he move. "Knowing you… I must be the first to see this, huh?" He mused, glaring at the corpse. Shaking his head back and forth, he made his way toward her house. "I just didn't want to believe that one human being could be filled with so much hate."

About twelve minutes after sunrise, Kaoru arrived at the Nara household. He knocked on the door rather loudly and waited patiently as he heard footsteps slowly make their way to the front.

"Ugh… who the hell in their right mind would be up this early?" Temari swung the door open in her robe and peered out to see who it was. "…oh… OH! Kaoru-kun! What are doing here so early?" She turned back and shouted into the house. "Mina! Get Up!" The blonde's attention went back to her guest with a smile. "She'll be right out."

The young man glanced off to the side with a pained expression. _No she won't. God! Mina, why? Why do this to your family?_

"Mina! I said 'Get Up', I meant now!" Temari again shouted over her shoulder. "Would you like to come in?" Her sweet side again shined at her early morning visitor.

"No, ma'am. I'd actually like to speak with Shikamaru-sama. It's important."

The matron of the house failed to pick up on the morose tone in the man's voice. Instead, wedding bells chimed loudly between her ears. "Oh! Certainly. Just wait right here!" She grinned from ear to ear. _I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! He's not wasting one minute asking for Shikamaru's permission!_

Kaoru paced on the front patio. _How do you tell someone that their daughter is dead and on display in the middle of the village?_ A small squadron of ANBU arrived, but stopped short when they caught sight of him out front. The group stared at him; he stared back. An unspoken conversation took place. They were there to inform the Nara household of what was currently driving the entire village into a frenzy of terror and distress. Kaoru raised a hand and waved them off. He had come to do this deed by himself; he felt it was right for him to do this alone.

The captain of the squad nodded, understanding the gesture and rather grateful that he wouldn't have to inform the family of the grotesque horror that had occurred. In a quick flash, they were gone. "What did they want?" Shikamaru stood uncharacteristically alert in the front door. His shrewd gaze fell on the Hatake. "Better yet, what do you want?"

"Sir…" Kaoru faltered. It wasn't like him to lose his cool, but the words 'Mina is dead' seemed to have grown claws and dug themselves into his throat. He took a breath and faced the older man.

"Maybe we shouldn't stand so close to the door." Shikamaru walked down the front steps and out into the yard. Kaoru followed obediently. "My wife was listening in on us, but something tells me you are not the bearer of good tidings." He stopped walking and turned on the young man. "I heard Mina leave the house last night. She never came back. What did you come here to tell me?"

"You already suspect something bad, don't you sir?" He found it hard to look him in the eye, but was compelled to struggle though it anyway.

Shikamaru nodded. "She's been acting strangely as of late. Like she had a secret, like she had been planning something…" He noticed a small twitch in Kaoru's shoulders. "What was she planning?"

He took a moment to organize his next words carefully. "I don't know why she did it. Honestly, I don't even know how she managed to do it." The image of her body, impaled the way it was, flashed in his mind. "Sir… your daughter… I'm sorry, but she gone."

"Gone?" The question fell out of him mouth before he could stop it. He knew exactly what Kaoru meant. Mina, his daughter, was dead. He covered his eyes while memories of her resurfaced in him. He remembered the day she was born; how he held her in his arms and was so proud to have her. Her blue eyes looking up at him adoringly and her tiny hands grasping for his nose; the memory brought tears to his eyes. Where did he go wrong? Why had Mina become the woman that she did? He fought off the immediate sorrow and looked back up; his age showing more than ever before. "Don't…" Kaoru was about to elaborate. "Just don't…"

Temari had poked her eager head out to see what the two men were talking about. But when she saw her husband cover his eyes, her dreams began to shatter. "Shikamaru!" She rushed out to his side. "Sweetheart, what's wrong. What is it?" He didn't respond so she turned to the visitor with a concerned questioning gaze.

Shikamaru raised his hand to stop the young man from answering Temari. "I'll tell her." He began to lead his wife back to the main house.

"Tell me what? Shika-koi, what's going on?" The woman didn't resist him as he led her away.

Shikamaru paused for a moment and looked over his shoulder at Kaoru. "Where…?" He half-heartedly asked.

"Four blocks southwest of the Sunii apartment complex. We'll wait for you." The young man briefly stated with a dull voice and took off.

Temari tugged on her husband's sleeve. "Why won't you speak to me?" Her voice had become weak with anxiety. He didn't answer her. He only continued to lead her inside. When he looked up, he saw Aki rubbing his eyes, standing in the doorway. "Why are you up so early, darling?" Temari reached down and lifted her youngest child into her arms as the three now made their way inside the house.

"I had a bad dream, Momma." He held her tightly. "The pale-eyed devil took Mina away from me. And then, she came back. Only she was a pale-eyed devil too." The child whimpered in his mother's hold.

"Ssshhh….Ssshhh. It was only a dream, sweetie." She rocked her son back and forth, while trying to make eye contact with her husband; something that would not be accomplished until he found his nerve.

Slowly, Shikamaru shut the front door behind them. This would not be an easy task, but it would have to be done quickly.

--

"God, just look at it." One of the ANBU guarding the perimeter of the crime scene glanced back at what he was keeping the public away from. "The blood is everywhere! It's stained all the way down to ground level." He nudged his comrade in the arm. "Looks like the whole village came out to see it."

"It's a 'she' not an 'it', genius." His partner smacked him upside the head. "And one of the Nara clan to boot, so show some goddamn respect."

"Boys…" Kaoru walked through the crowd and greeted the two guards.

"Sir!" They saluted briefly.

He nodded them at ease. "Is the Hokage here yet?"

"Yes sir." The more respectful one answered. "He's up there with the chief medic right now. I believe they're waiting for her father." He spoke the last part with a hint of awkwardness.

"He should be here shortly." Kaoru drifted past them, heading up to where Mina's corpse hung.

The Hokage ran a hand through his short blonde hair. He didn't want to look at the body in front of him, but he knew he couldn't just leave without seeing Shikamaru first. Kaoru walked up to him, also avoiding looking at the display. "Rough morning, Kaoru?"

He only sighed and nodded in response as he turned away from the scene and held onto the railing, looking out at the crowd below. It took him another moment to answer. "Yea."

The blonde turned away from the scene as well, in all truth disgusted by it. "What a coincidence. Me too." He tilted his head back and gestured toward the chief medic that was still inspecting the body. "I honestly don't know how she does it."

The chief medic, a woman, was taking well documented observations about the weapons used in this seemingly ritualistic death. "Stop being so squeamish, Naruto." She chastised him in hushed tones, not wanting to offend anyone who might be suffering because of the situation. "It's just blood, bone and tissue. The girl herself is long gone."

"What was the cause of death?" Kaoru still refused to turn around, but wanted in the conversation nevertheless.

"You're joking right?" Naruto looked at him as if he were slow. "I would have to go with the metal spike though the heart is what did her in."

"But that's what's so strange about it." The medic stood staring at the corpse with her hands on her hips. She reached forward and lifted Mina's chin, examining the face.

Kaoru turned sideways, just enough to look at the pink-haired woman. "What's strange?" Again, the Hokage shot him a look that questioned his intelligence. "Besides the obvious."

"Well… It's clear that this was the first spike to pierce her body." She pointed to the spot over Mina's still heart. "Blood spatter on her face, chest and hands" she pointed to Mina's side, "seems to indicate that she's the one that pulled it through her chest. Instead of someone else pushing it though her." Blank stares were all she got in return for the ingenious observation. No one liked to think about suicide. "All the other spikes seem to be either simultaneous or immediately post-mortem. These right here, on her forearms and thighs." She knelt down and followed the lines of blood. "These served to drain her of every last drop of blood. They go through her main arteries."

"The 'strange' part, Sakura-chan. The 'strange' part…?" The Hokage was slowly becoming irritated with how engrossed the woman seemed to be with the situation.

She shot the man a quick glare. "The strange part is that all of these other spikes. In her torso, shoulders, wrists and lower legs… they all went through after she was completely drained. There are no lines of blood coming out of their entry sites."

"What!?" Kaoru finally looked at the body, thrown by Sakura's conclusion.

"What? What'd I miss?" Naruto looked back and forth between the two of a higher aptitude than himself.

Sakura took a moment to elaborate for the leader of their village. "At first glance, someone would assume murder, but upon further examination, it starts to look like a suicide." She pointed back at the body. "But one question remains that's keeping me from making a solid conclusion. Even if she was able to stab five spikes into her legs, heart and then arms, perhaps by means of some shadow jutsu; it doesn't explain how the other spikes in the rest of her, were driven in after her body was completely devoid of blood."

"Assisted suicide." Kaoru leaned back against the railing and covered his eyes. "She was planning this and the only way she could have ended up looking like… that…" He glared at the scene from between his fingers. "Is if someone helped her."

"What if someone just forced her to do it?" Sakura offered an alternative scenario.

"Mina? Get 'forced' to do something? Not even her mother can make her do anything." The other two nodded in his assessment. "No, this was consensual. But who in the hell would help her do this?"

"It's one thing to ask the question, but another to actually answer it." Shikamaru walked up to the small group. He glanced at Kaoru. "Turns out I didn't even need your directions. The crowd goes out for a few blocks. I couldn't miss it." He walked right up to the hanging body of his dead child. _God…No, not God. _"Get her down, please." Sakura nodded and waved her assistants over to help her remove the spikes.

Naruto walked forward and put a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder. He didn't know what to say, but knowing him, it was better that he stay silent.

Sakura caught the body as the final spikes, the ones through her shoulders, were drawn out last. That's when Shikamaru saw it. His jaw went slack as he pushed Naruto away and past the coroners to stand directly in front of the wall that previously served as Mina's canvas. He reached out and touched the wall; the breaking of his heart almost audible. "Naruto…" His voice ground out.

"Yea?" The blonde had never seen his childhood friend like this before. "What is it Shikamaru?"

"I know I've never been much more than a lazy bastard, but I need to ask you a favor." His head fell forward next to his hand on the wall.

"Name it."

"I need your best ninja assembled and at my house in ten minutes." Shikamaru stood back up straight and glared at the wall. With one last glance at his deceased daughter on the stretcher, he turned and walked away growling, "The son-of-a-bitch got out."

The Hokage looked at Kaoru. "On it." The silver-haired man nodded to his commander and jumped over the railing; off to assemble the elite of the village.

"Sakura." Naruto walked up next to her, his hands deep in his pockets.

"Yes, koibito." She was pulling a pristine white sheet over Mina's lifeless body. The coroners carried it away to the morgue for an autopsy.

"Do you know what that symbol means?" He pointed to the wall behind them.

On the wall stained in blood darker than that which was Mina's was a giant circle with a triangle inside of it. The graffiti seemed to incite as much chatter in the crowd below as Mina's corpse.

Sakura stared at it for a few moments and shook her head. "No. I don't recognize it." She picked up her examination tools and started to walk away, side by side with Naruto. "But did you catch what Shikamaru said?"

"Yea. Who got out?" He helped her down the stairs.

"I don't know, but I'm glad it's not me." She fought a shiver that went down her back. "It's not natural for him to look so… intense."

* * *

**Muah-haha-haha-haha-ha-ha-ha! I don't even have a soft spot for Shikamaru, but damn I'm writing him to be a closet-badass. Maybe Mina got her spunk from him, eh?**

**Review and let me know how you liked this chapter! (Please?)**


	6. Storm Front

…**I just realized that I put in the first A/N that this would be done in matter of days. Boy was I off or what?**

**I was really debating with myself over whether I should post this chapter. I'm a little scared that I'm going to lose some of ya'll. It's on the 'intense' side, but I promise ya'll… if you just hold out until the final chapter (the next chapter) I will 'REDEEM' myself. **

* * *

Chapter 6: Storm Front

"Dude, is it wrong for me to be totally turned on right now?" The man looked up to his fellow mortician as they finished cleaning off the dead body before them, prepping it for an autopsy.

The other man kept his head down, pulling Mina's long blonde hair off to the side, draping it over the edge of the table. "No. But it's really fucked up for you to be telling me."

"Nah, but seriously man--"

"Nah, but seriously man… shut the fuck up." The more dignified individual interrupted his co-workers explication and pulled a sheet over the naked corpse. "C'mon." He rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand. "I haven't even had my coffee this morning." He started to walk out to the room.

The other mortician followed. "I can tell." He looked back at the figure under the sheet. "Shouldn't we put her in one of the fridge units?"

"Why bother? We'll be back in five minutes to cut her open. Just leave her." He sighed. "It's not like she's going anywhere." The two closed the door to the morgue behind them with a decent slam due to its heavy weight.

The slight breeze created by the slamming door caused a bottle of disinfectant to tip over and slowly roll off the counter. Instead of striking the floor and shattering, it fell and struck the locking mechanism on a metal cart, with enough force to free the wheel and allow the cart to gradually roll across the room. With a high pitched 'clang' the cart struck the corner of the stand that held Mina's body. The energy of the strike reverberated and caused a dead, lifeless arm to slip off the counter from under the sheet.

The arm hung there, motionless for several seconds. Then… the ring finger twitched.

With a sudden, and silent, burst of energy the arm swung up and pulled the sheet from Mina's pale face. She took in her surroundings. _What the fuck? …_ _Where am I?_

Then it hit her. _Oh hell yea! HaHa!_ Mina settled herself and quietly sat up, for the first time realizing her current state. She was cold, sitting bare on the metal countertop. As she sat there motionless, she realized that while she was cold, her body wasn't shivering. In fact, she wasn't even breathing. _Wait… Am I even capable of breathing? Wait… Better question: Do I even need to breathe?_ Her hands and eyes slowly started to explore what had become of her body. The glaringly obvious hole over her heart was her first interest. Very gingerly, Mina slipped her finger into the hole until she touched her, literally, torn heart. There was an abrupt explosion of pain and the organ began to function again; her lungs surged back to live as well. She tried to say 'wow', but all that came out was a loud rasping cough. The old air was desperate to be freed from her chest and the feeling made her thirsty. _Water. Where the hell is some water?_

Sliding off of the countertop, she stumbled and fell back against it. _What is it now?_ Mina exasperated in her mind. She looked down to see a line of holes down her legs, preventing her from standing without support. It was then that she heard the strangest sound. It was almost a kind of crackling, only more 'wet' sounding. Mina's gaze shifted to the origin of the strange noise, her wrists. There were holes there too. _Damn you Hidan. I said, 'creative' not 'crucifixion'._ She could see straight through them. However, thus would not be the case for very long. Along the edges of the wound, it appeared that her cells were regenerating. The various tendons, veins and bone that had been either torn or crushed, were rebuilding themselves. It took about two full minutes for every injury she had incurred to heal. Though, Mina was still very thirsty.

Now able to walk and move about properly, she caught sight of a lab coat by the door to the morgue. _Heh, it wouldn't be very modest of me to walk around like this._ The blonde joked with herself as she walked over and threw it on.

The door swung open and Mina sidestepped to avoid being crushed behind it. Two men, one with a cup of coffee, the other eating a cookie walked in. Neither one noticed her standing behind them.

"Aw, hell." The one eating a cookie exclaimed upon instantly noticing that the body they had left on the counter was gone. "Where'd she go?!"

The coffee-drinker raised his hand to shut up his partner. "Calm down, would ya'?" He walked forward and lifted the sheet up, looking over the area. "Someone must have stolen the corpse. C'mon, let's go get Sakura-sama." He turned around and stopped in his tracks, staring intently past the other man.

"What?" The cookie-eater brushed a crumb away from his mouth.

"Don't turn around." His co-worker slowly reached forward for him. "Walk toward me… slowly."

The foolish man rolled his eyes and quickly turned around. His eyes went wide as he realized that he was staring at the reanimated corpse he had, until just recently, considered becoming necrophilic for. "AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!" He screamed, dropping his cookie and scrambling backwards toward the other, or only, man in the room. "ZOMBIEEEE!!!"

Mina's lips curled up in a smile. _What a nice welcome back to the land of the living. Oooo, is that coffee?_ She took a few steps forward, crushing the fallen sweet underfoot, and gestured for the cup in the frozen man's hand.

"Y-you want my coffee?" He stuttered, unsure of all existence at the moment. The blonde nodded and continued to ask for the drink with her body language. "Uh… okay… sure." He stretched out his arm to hand it to her.

"No! Don't do it!" The cookie man latched onto his comrade's sleeve. "It's evil! Unnatural! Hell-spawn!"

Mina was close enough now and gratefully took the coffee, downing it in just a few gulps. "Hehe…" She coughed her throat now clear and clean as a whistle. It must have been dried up blood that caused the temporary muteness. "Hell-spawn… I like that." She set down the empty cup and watched the two for a moment.

"Wha-what are you?" One finally managed to stutter out.

The young woman smiled widely. "Something you're not."

They both trembled from the tone in her voice. "What the hell does that mean?!" The cookie-eater pleaded.

The woman chuckled lowly. "I'm alive." Mina's hand glided over a scalpel as she slowly approached the two men. "And ya'll aren't."

--

Shikamaru knelt at the edge of the gaping hole in the ground. He had led a strike team of five men, himself and Kaoru included, out to where he kept his most guarded secret buried; or at least until recently. "I doubt they'll find anything, but I sent the other three out to search the surrounding area for any sign of him."

"So then… was there something you wanted to show me?" Kaoru shifted around where he stood. It had only been a mere hour since he had departed from the crowded street corner in town and the stress of the day seemed to only compound on itself. He needed to do something and standing around was not it.

"I dug this hole out myself over twenty years ago." Shikamaru's hand brushed the inside of the pit. "It was so long ago… I got careless…" He crushed a small dirt clod with his fist.

"Sir?" _Please don't have a breakdown right now, Nara-sama. I don't know if I could help you. I'm almost on the verge myself._

The older man quickly stood up, jolting himself out of his thoughts. "How do you suppose an immortal man, blown apart into separate pieces and buried under nearly two tons of dirt and gravel, manages to get out?"

This was something Kaoru could deal with; a problem with a clear, straight-forward answer. "By 'immortal' you mean…?"

"Someone that just won't fucking die." Shikamaru growled and began to examine the immediate vicinity for any clues.

"Right. Okay." He watched as Mina's father's keen eyes searched about. "Well… something like that… I-I don't think it's possible." He shook his head definitively. The old man pulled a stray hair from the bark of a tree. It was long and blonde. He held it up for this younger companion to see. "Unless you had someone to help you. Someone to dig you out." The wind picked up suddenly. A storm front was coming in and whatever sunlight there had been would soon be gone.

"Exactly." Shikamaru let the strand fly away in the strong breeze. "A few days ago I noticed that some digging equipment of mine had gone missing. Then it came back and I never bothered to ask. I got careless."

"There was no way you could have known; you couldn't have suspected--"

"But I should have!" He snapped at the boy. "She was my own god damn daughter and I should have known better than to have not suspected her." With a deep breath, he came back down. "Somehow, that bastard convinced her to help him out and then he turned on her and killed her."

"Actually…" Hidan stood just to the side, on the other side of the pit. "It was all her idea." The two instantly went on the defensive. Before them stood a shirtless man, his arms wrapped around a bloody scythe behind his neck. "Being her father, I really would have expected you to understand her." He swung the weapon around and held it at his side. "Though, it just makes the irony so much richer that you don't."

"Tch. You're some kind of idiot, aren't you?" Kaoru tightened his grip on his weapon. "You're in an unfamiliar forest, surrounded by enemies. Do you really think you can take the five of us?"

Hidan's lavender eyes settled on the silver haired young man. "First off, I've been in this fucking forest for twenty-some odd years. I'm pretty familiar with it. Secondly, have you not noticed the blood on my scythe?" He belted out a zealous laugh. "There's just the three of us out here." A bright smile crept onto his lips as their frowns deepened. "And last, but certainly not least… Who the fuck are you?"

Shikamaru jumped in instead. "Don't bother answering him Kaoru." He turned his attention back to Hidan. "This ends here and now!"

"Again, you've got your facts all wrong." He smiled widely. "It'll end when I've gotten my revenge. Like when I kill your precious sons in front of their mother and then slowly slit her throat as she cries out for you." Shikamaru was nearly at his breaking point. "No. Wait." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "It'll end after I kill them and then fuck your daughter while still drenched in their blood. Yeah, that will be the end of it between you and I."

"You're disgusting." Kaoru growled while Shikamaru remained silent. He attacked with a flurry of shuriken. "Mina's dead you sick fuck." He followed with his family's signature move, Raikiri. It was dead on. Hidan couldn't have dodged if he had wanted to. Shikamaru had him trapped by his shadow the instant he made himself known.

Regardless, Hidan continued to grin as he looked down at Kaoru with his hand through his chest. "Again, you got your facts all wrong." He nodded for the two men to look behind them. They did and what they saw defied all logic.

With the strong storm settled overhead, the wind howled through the trees and caused the dark robed figure to sway. Its arm lifted up and pulled off the hood, revealing Mina's scowling face.

"Mina…" Shikamaru lost concentration and his hold on Hidan.

"I thought you were going to wait for me in the village, dumbass." Mina growled at the devout Jashinist. He only chuckled at the shocked expressions on the two men's faces. "Instead, I have to run my ass out here to find you. And what do I come across? Were you about to kill people… without me?"

Hidan shook his head back and forth. "Of course not!" His hand struck out and held onto Kaoru's neck, lifting the young man into the air and inadvertently pulling his arm out of his open chest. "Here. You can have this one. I think you know that I have unfinished business with your father." He threw Kaoru back into a tree next to Mina.

Before the man could even recover and fully return to his feet, Mina's arm shot out, flinging two surgical needles into his neck. Instantly, Kaoru collapsed to the ground, motionless.

"Wha-What in the hell did you that for?!" Hidan snapped at her. "You're supposed to sacrifice them! Not just kill 'em! The slower and more painful the better! What a waste!"

Mina sighed tiredly. "Just shut up and let's go."

"NO! I'm gonna sacrifice this bastard first." Hidan raised his scythe and made his way toward Shikamaru.

"No, you're not." Mina jumped back, her father mirroring her motion. She had him trapped in his own jutsu. The irony, that if had never forced her to become proficient in its use and then he wouldn't be trapped in this situation, was undeniable.

"Mina." Shikamaru's voice was faint as he looked at her. Her skin was paler and her braided hair had blood stains in it. "Why?"

She slipped off the black cloak that obscured her figure. Beneath she wore black shorts and the same while lab coat that she had found in the morgue, only it also had blood stains along the sleeves and collar. "Because, Daddy." She took a deep, thoughtful breath. "When I died, I learned my fate." Her tone was soft, almost sorrowful and completely unlike herself. "And I have every intention of fulfilling that fate."

"Oh geez, this is getting too touchy-feely for me. What the fuck are you talking about Mina?!" Hidan leaned up against his scythe, beyond irritated with the blonde's cryptic words.

She rolled her eyes and turned on the generations-older man; the aggression and malice returned to her voice. "I'm saying that I want a family reunion. Let's go." Mina marched off, her shadow forcing her father ahead of her. "Coming?" She glanced back at Hidan.

"Yea. Sure. Why the fuck not, right?" The immortal's sarcastic tone cut into her. "But no more wasting sacrifices. Do you hear me?" He scolded her, pointing back to Kaoru's body.

"Not a problem." Mina snickered. _Though… you should be more specific with your words Hidan-kun._

* * *

…… **"You think you get it, but you don't ****get it, that's why I'm telling you. You think you get it, which isn't the same as actually getting it. Get it?"--Best quote ever! **

**But in all seriousness folks… I'm waving my right hand around and you're looking at it. Next chapter, straight outta left field, instead of slapping you with my left hand, I'm gonna kick you in the shin. It's just how I roll. **

**(Ya'll will like it. Just chill and leave me a long review that lets me know what you liked/didn't like. Please?)**


	7. Redemption

**'sigh' Apologies. I know I said this was the final chapter… but it was just getting so long. (uno mas, perhaps?) Aw well, I'm sure a majority of ya'll are happy. It just gives ya'll more to read. :)**

**Sorry it took so long. :) I've been trying to expand my reputwar of manga of which I am a fan. (Translated into 'normal' that means I've been distracted reading Fairy Tail. Oh and by the way, (for any of ya'll that do read Fairy Tail) I named this one character Natsu before I started reading this manga. It's just a coincidence.)**

**Sorry if a certain explanation in the story seems a bit 'Deus ex Machina' for ya'll. But I thought it was hilarious. (And totally believable too)**

* * *

Chapter 7: Redemption

He blinked his eyes slowly. The blurry darkness gradually gave way to a sharper image of two men kneeling on either side of him. They were talking… no, they were arguing, rather loudly it seemed, but his hearing was dulled and all he could make out was a low, slurred mumbling.

"Oh! Oh, look! He's up!" One of the two kneeling by Kaoru's motionless form pushed the other with a wide grin. "Look at that!" He pointed to his watch. "Five minutes faster than Mina estimated. You owe me ten bucks!"

The grouchier looking of the two just glared back. "Seriously? How can you think about something as stupid as that, at a time like this?"

Kaoru tried to get their attention, but he had yet to regain full control of his movements.

"Please don't move, Kaoru-san." The grouch placed his hand on the man's chest to still him. "You still have the needles in your throat. But now that you're conscious we can remove them." He nodded to his partner. "On three. One. Two. Three." The men each pulled out one needle and a surge of stinging pain shot through Kaoru's entire body. He shot up from where he lay, holding his neck tenderly.

"Ack! What the hell!" He pulled himself out of his agony as quickly as he could manage and began to ask the two men questions. "Who are you? Where'd that bastard go?" The young man quickly looked around before asking the most pressing question on his mind. "Where's Mina?!"

"Ah, yes. Ms. Nara." One man fell back on his rear end and pulled out a cookie and began to eat it. "Interesting story. Wanna hear it?"

The other reached across Kaoru and knocked the treat out of the man's hand. "What the hell is wrong with you? Eating at a time like this! We're on a tight schedule. If we don't follow Mina's instructions to a tee, then more people are going to die!"

The man pulled out another cookie from his pocket. "We got five extra minutes. Kaoru-san woke up early, so we've got time to spare."

"Yea, actually, I could really go for understanding what the fuck is going on right now." Kaoru leaned back against the tree he had been thrown against, still holding his aching neck. It wasn't helping the man's mood any. "Did you say, 'Mina's instructions'?" The sarcasm came hard and fast. "Cause, as far as I knew, she was dead. In fact, I'm positive that she was dead. Despite the fact that my memory is telling me that she threw needles into my throat in an attempt to kill me, I'm still pretty sure that she's dead."

The man eating the cookie snickered at his comment. "You know, I've seen a lot of dead people in my time; killed in all kinds of crazy ways. But Mina… well… she was a first for me." He coughed. The cookie was sticking in his mouth. "I need something to drink. Hey." He reached out to his partner. "You bring any coffee or whatnot?" The other man shook his head back and forth. "Then you tell him." He gagged and tried to clear his dry mouth. "I can't talk."

_Serves you right for eating at a time like this, but I doubt you are capable of not talking._ The other man rolled his eyes and looked back at his watch. "Alright then. We got four minutes. I'll try and make this a quick and simple as possible."

"I'm all ears." Kaoru rubbed his eyes, thoroughly annoyed by the two men's banter in such pressing circumstances. Today was not turning out to be his day.

--The coffee-drinker's recountal/memory of what happened at the morgue--

"What the hell does that mean?!" The cookie-eater pleaded.

The woman chuckled lowly. "I'm alive." Mina's hand glided over a scalpel as she slowly approached the two men. "And ya'll aren't." They're eyes went wide at the prospect of their certain doom. This is not the end that either of them had imagined.

Natsu, the cookie-eater, was the former apprentice of Lady Sakura. However, nearly two years ago, he was quickly booted to the side when he made the near fatal mistake of hitting on her daughter, in a rather inappropriate way. He was incredibly grateful and lucky to have not been snapped in half on the spot. He didn't mind working in the morgue. It was an easy job and he liked it that way. Though, he had always imagined that someday he would regain favor with the terrifying woman and get his old position back.

Okura, the coffee-drinker, was a seasoned field medic of jonin rank. He had been temporarily shipped to the early morning shift at the morgue, while the Hokage took his dear sweet time picking out three genin for him to train. Today was actually supposed to be his last day there. Oh fate, what evil tricks you play. He had always thought that his death would come to him on the field of battle; not in a morgue to have 'death by zombie' written on his death certificate.

With a quick dash forward, Mina sliced at Natsu with the scalpel in her hand, cutting a long gash across his chest. Okura took the opportunity to try and get behind her, but she was too fast and had already anticipated his movements. He tripped as she pulled a fallen sheet out from under his feet. Then Mina paused.

Natsu was on his back, holding his bleeding chest and Okura was about to jump back and stage a counter offensive. He had a bloody nose from his fall. But still Mina couldn't bring herself to move. Instead, she leaned back against the counter-top that she had just arisen from. She let the scalpel fall from her hand and clang on the cold, hard floor.

_Something's not right. Why doesn't this feel right?_ Mina looked down at Natsu. He wasn't just holding his chest anymore. He was using his advanced medical ninjutsu to heal his wound. Her gaze came back up to see Okura with a kunai in his hand, ready to attack. "I… I'm sorry." The words sounded so foreign to her as she raised her hand in front of herself and let her head fall down to her chest. _Why? I just don't get it. Why do I feel so guilty all of a sudden?_

"Huh?" Natsu stood in front of her, his hand a fist; also ready to fight back. "Are you kidding me? You're a zombie! A mindless killing machine! You can't be sorry!"

Mina's eyes traveled back up, stopping at the man's, now scarred, chest. "I just don't get it. I-I thought that, that's what I was supposed to do. I thought it would make me happy, but…" Her head shook back and forth. "I'm sorry. God, I just feel so… different all of a sudden." Mina wrapped her arms around herself and kept still. A nauseous array of emotions was washing over her. The two men looked back and forth at each other, utterly and honestly confused.

Natsu sat down on the ground so that he could look up at her. "Different, like other than you're a reanimated corpse?"

"No." She shook her head again. "Like I'm seeing the world so much more clearly now. I thought that I would see it from Hidan's point of view, but I… I just can't put my finger on it." Mina looked into Natsu's eyes. "I used to think that murder was something I wanted to do, but now… after attacking the two of you… I just don't know anymore." _None of this seems right. Why would I be alive if I can't bring myself to commit murder?_

He nodded, his eyebrows just about touching his hairline. "Well… all things considered, I'd have to say that it's a very wise decision on your part." He glanced over at Okura for a brief moment. "Now about the fact that you're dead--"

"I'm not dead." She corrected him, her hand over her heart. "I have a pulse. There's blood in my veins. I'm breathing." Mina noticed Okura walking behind her. The soldier was still on edge from her brief assault. "I'm not going to try to hurt either of you anymore." Her voice ground out over her shoulder at him. _I've got much more pressing things to think about. Namely, why in the hell am I not filled with the desire to kill?_

"I'd rather not take the chance." The jonin held his ground. "You're obviously not dead, but you're sure as hell not normal."

"That's just it." Mina sat herself down on the floor across from the other man. "Supposedly, Jashin only blesses those who have hearts that are willing to do his bidding. But here I am, not wanting to sacrifice either of you." Her eyes again searched Natsu's. "I don't think I have it in me to kill you."

"Just what the hell kinda zombie are you?!" The man threw his arms out to the side. "And what's a 'Jashin'?"

The blonde woman brushed some of the blood on her hands off on her lab coat before she reached up to start re-braiding her hair. "He's a god. His worshippers kill people and in return he makes them immortal. That's what I am now. I'm immortal, not a zombie." She tied the end of her braid with a piece of string that she found in the pocket of her coat. "So stop calling me that." The biting tone at the end of the sentence let the two know she was serious. _At least my attitude has remained intact._

"Huh… I've heard some crazy shit in my time but that… wow." Okura's voice was dull and unimpressed. He was still somewhat certain that she was going to strike out at a moment's notice.

Mina finished with her hair and sat still, her arms wrapped around her knees that were up to her chest. "Alright…" Natsu scooted closer to her. "You're not a zombie. But you did die, right?" She nodded offhandedly. Mina wasn't really listening to him. She was a bit too preoccupied by her own thoughts, but what explanation he was about to offer her would soon catch her attention. "You know, my mom was a priestess and she would always say that there were two ways to gain perspective in the world. You can travel around and see the mountains and seas or you can travel to the land of the dead."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Okura sat himself down on the table above the two sitting on the floor. Mina remained silent, staring intently at a blood spot on the floor by Natsu's feet.

"I'm just trying to be helpful. Geez, man. Look," He reached out and held Mina's knee. "Maybe when you died, you saw the world and your life from a different perspective."

Her maple brown eyes shot up with a cruel glare. "I haven't changed."

"I didn't say you did." He raised his hands defensively. "I'm just saying what my mom always said, that death is an eye-opening experience. It gives you a better grasp on reality. It takes the blinders off." The medic smiled at her. "And because you came back to life, you get to keep all of that perspective that you've gained. It's a very unique gift."

Okura slipped down and joined the other two on the floor. "He's right. I've seen it out on the battlefield. A soldier dies for a few minutes, comes back, they're the same but it's like they know more. Like they've seen something that influences the actions they take from then on."

"Still one problem with you guys' theory…" The blonde semi-growled. "I was dead for hours. How do you explain that?" Both Mina and Okura inadvertently looked up at Natsu.

"Oh what? I come up with one theory and now I'm the go-to guy on them?" They nodded. "Fine. Gimme a second." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cookie, which he began to nibble at.

As the one ate his confectionary treat, Mina turned to the other. "Where are my clothes?"

Okura stared back at her with the same dull look in his eyes. He noticed the goose bumps along her skin. "Right now, I'd imagine they're being incinerated in the furnace. They were soaked in all ten pints of your blood." She sighed, irritated with his lack of concern, and returned to glaring at the blood spot on the ground. The man felt a pang from his inner conscience and stood up. "I'll find you something."

A minute after Okura left the room, Natsu's eyes shot up at Mina. She felt the intensity of his gaze and looked up. "I've got it!"

She sat patiently for a grand total of six seconds. "Well spit it out already!"

"Rapid cellular regeneration caused by a viral mutation." He sat, proudly shining with his ingenious diagnosis. "So? What do you think?"

Mina's tongue dug into her left bicuspid. "I think you're a moron." The words slapped him across the face.

"Come on! That's a good theory! What's wrong with it?"

_This guy! My God… talk about spending too much time watching science fiction movies._ "Alright." She rubbed her eyes and brushed back a stray lock of hair. "Let's just say that you're right about the viral part. When and where was I infected?" Mina readjusted herself where she sat on the floor. It was too cold for her liking.

"Well… depending on the medium that the virus needs, it could have been airborne and just floated into one of your open wounds…" Natsu tapped his chin thoughtfully. "But then it's likely that there are several others in the village with this disease. They just haven't died and had a chance to come back to life yet. It could be an epidemic waiting to happen. Like a sleeper cell army of the walking dead. I could even be infected!"

Mina reached out and actually slapped him across the face this time to bring him out of it. "You're not 'infected'. Calm the fuck down, retard." _Mononucleosis is spread by saliva and HIV can be spread by blood._ Mina had a brief memory of her overly-bloody death and her 'last' kiss._ It was Hidan and his ritual. The ritual is, quite literally, what grants 'immortality'. There is no Jashin… just an overzealous, sadistic son of a bitch who doesn't know any better._ "I think I was infected by a host."

"A host? You mean there's someone else out there like you?!" Natsu's eyes just about fell out of his skull.

"His name is Hidan. He said that he was immortal because of his faith, but, despite how ridiculous it might sound, your idea makes more sense." A pair of black shorts and a pair of boots fell on her head. "Ack. What the fuck!" She whipped around to see Okura, still armed, staring down at her. "Jackass." She snapped.

"Hn." He crossed his arms, unimpressed by her threatening tone. "That's all I could find. Looks like you're stuck with the lab coat for now." The girl huffed in reply and crawled over to a corner to complete her outfit. "Did she just say that you had a viable idea?" His attention turned to his more amiable partner.

Natsu smiled. "Yea! Hey, do you think that this whole situation will put me back in Sakura-hime's good graces?"

"Depends." He glanced over to catch Mina slipping on the boots. "Is this the kind of situation that will cause her more or less trouble?"

The cheerful fellow's smile faded. "… More." He stood up and brushed a few crumbs off of his shirt. "Darn it. I'm gonna get in more trouble because of you!" He pointed at and scolded Mina.

She walked up to him with a nice scowl on her face. "Are you bipolar or some shit like that?"

"Nah, he's just spoiled." Okura leaned back against that countertop. "Now what's the plan here? I vote we go tell the Hokage and get a good, by the book, investigation started." Natsu nodded in agreement. He knew he was somehow going to get blamed for the problem by Sakura, but any other action would result in a worse punishment. "Lord knows we're in deep as it is. The whole village is shaking; we got people freaking out and Shikamaru-sama went out to, god only knows where, with an ANBU squadron, running around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off." He reached up and ran a hand through his hair to relive some of the stress. "The sooner this is out of our hands the better."

"Wha-What did you say?" Mina stuttered. There was an unfamiliar tingling in her nose. It was borderline painful. _Oh god… what-what is this? Why am I crying? What the fuck's going on!? _She covered her nose and mouth with one hand and her chest with the other. "… Daddy." She whispered into hand. Before Mina understood what was going on, she was flooded with memories of when she was little; back before the animosity between her family and herself developed. She saw flashes of all the times when she would fall and her dad would help her up, of all the times that her older brother would make fun of her and he would defend her, and of all the times that the two of them used to sit together watching the clouds slowly glide through the sky. She used to love the clouds. It struck her as tragic that she had forgotten all of this. _….No…no, this… this can't happen. I won't let this happen!_

Ever the respectful gentlemen, Natsu and Okura stood quietly as Mina apparently had an aneurism before their very eyes. "Hey…" Natsu quietly nudged his comrade. "You think she's alright?"

"Honestly?" The man raised his eyebrow slightly. "I don't think she was born right. The bitch has issues, but hey, it's not like she's running around like a lunatic."

"Come on!" Mina suddenly snapped out of her revelation and bolted out the door.

"Whoa!" "Holy shit!" The two men took off after her. "Where in the hell do you think you're going?!" Okura caught up to her first; grabbing her wrist and stopping her just outside the village wall.

_I don't have time for this! Hidan is going to kill everyone!_ Mina did her best to shake off her frantic state of mind. _Okay, calm down. I need to think clearly about this. _"You're going to help me." She spoke slowly and deliberately to the man restraining her. "There is a man that I know my father is after. He is going to kill my entire family." There was a gut-wrenching stab to her stomach as the idea, of saving the people she had held so much misdirected hate toward, conflicted with her own violent ideals. "No one can stop him."

"If that's true, then what the hell do you think you can do?" Okura shook her slightly in his urgency. _Where the hell is Natsu?! That bastard better hurry up!_

The wild panic finally faded from Mina's eyes. "I don't really know." A cold, hard stare that had, until recently, been exclusively reserved for her mother, arose on her face. "But I'm immortal and smarter than people give me credit for… and the two of you are ninja, right?" She nodded toward Natsu who had just arrived. "What took you so long?" Mina's question was demanding, not whining like that of a child.

"Long story. I'll tell ya' later." He panted. "So, are we going after that Hidan dude you mentioned?"

The blonde nodded decisively. "Ready?"

"Hell Yes!" Natsu threw his lab coat off and tensed himself, ready to launch into the trees. A good ninja is always read to throw down.

Okura did not share the sentiment. "What? No! What the fuck's wrong with you?" He pushed his companion back. The poor fellow responded by mimicking the dejected face of a puppy. "And you…" He turned back to Mina. "You've got some nerve. Coming back from the dead and then running us out here like a couple of morons--"

"You said it. Not me." The young woman rolled her eyes sharply. Okura stopped talking after her interruption. "Listen." Mina's voice lowered as her brown eyes darkened to a near menacing shade of obsidian. "As much as I like standing around with you… arguing overly-simplistic and inconsequential matters… my father is out there. Some of your fellow shinobi are out there. And they are all going to die very soon if we don't get our asses moving. Hidan is not a patient man. Nor am I for that matter." She growled. "So, you are going to do one of two things. You are either going to let go of my wrist and go running back to your precious Hokage and pray to God that the red tape isn't as thick as it looks…" There was a momentary pause as she let her words sink in. "Or you're doing to stop wasting my fucking time and help me do the right thing." _For once in my miserable life…_ Her inner thoughts were significantly less bold in tone than her actual voice.

Okura's hard lined jaw matched the stone eyes of the eternally youthful woman before him. With the slightest grunt of defeat, he squeezed her wrist and let go. Mina took a deep breath. He hadn't noticed that she had actually stopped breathing after her exposition, waiting for his decision on the matter. Natsu took a step forward to pass the two and head off into the forest. Okura pushed him back and looked to Mina. "Lead the way."

--

It was that time of year again; the changing of the seasons. A strong breeze passed through the small group as they made their way. But the three failed to notice the storm that was brewing along the northwest horizon before them. It would be over Konoha in a matter of minutes, blocking out the sunshine and enveloping it in a shaded cocoon of darkness. What changes would take place? Would the world fall into a bloody chaos as immortal demons ravaged her children? Or perhaps something more miraculous… the redemption of a fallen angel?

* * *

**(Sits, fidgeting around and digging at her nails) So… was the last paragraph there a bit much? Anyways, more to come. Just gimme some time. I gotta work on 'Last' too. :)**

**Oh and one more note: Just cause she's been 'redeemed' (ie. The title of this chapter… I can't help but be tempted to point out my clever wit.) that doesn't mean that she is really any different. Trust me. The story will not come to a close without an ending befitting of its characters.**

**Questions, Comments, ****Reviews****?  
Throw them at me like high-powered grenades! (filled with water… I'm sensitive.)**


End file.
